SPECIAL ISSUE THE NoDAPL MOVEMENT WATER Is Life www.IndianCountryTodayMediaNetwork.com Fall 2016 2 INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY IndianCountryTodayMediaNetwork.com INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY 1 Photo by Matika Wilbur THIS WEEK FROM INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY A LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER Shekóli. A single arrow may be snapped over one’s over the construction of the pipeline cannot be predict- knees with ease, but a bundle of arrows may not. This ed. Yet we know what issues are at stake; we can identify old adage is exemplified by the strength and fortitude correlations between human rights and U.S. law, sov- shown by the gathering of water protec- ereignty and dispossession, politics and tors in Hunkpapa territory north of the power, dehumanization and domination. Standing Rock Sioux nation. The direct Much hangs in the balance for the First first grassroots action in April of this year Peoples of this continent. A strong case against the construction of the Dakota could be made that as we go, the world Access Pipeline near Standing Rock was a goes. Respect for our free and indepen- small one. Some twenty-odd people came dent existence on so many fronts depends together to camp as a visible show of unity on the freedom and independence of against what they saw as a potential viola- our neighbors. tion of Mother Earth and a degradation of the Missouri River, the life-giving artery Indian Country Today Media Network flowing through the Great Sioux Nation. has followed the story of Dakota Access Months later, the population of protectors closely ever since the Standing Rock Sioux has swelled into the thousands and repre- raised objections to it. This magazine, a sents hundreds of tribal nations. They are special issue devoted to the DAPL move- now a force to be reckoned with. ment, is the first single-subject, event- driven edition in our history. It represents Officials of the Standing Rock Sioux gov- only a portion of the hundreds of hours ernment had been opposing the plan to of reporting, writing and editing that the funnel millions of gallons of crude oil editorial team has devoted to informing through a 1,172-mile, underground pipe our audience of millions about actions through four states long before 2016. on the scene, legal battles, and breaking As the project moved forward over the decisions. Our goal with this publication course of spring and summer, pressed on was to capture the arc and breadth of a by Energy Transfer Partners, the parent company of story that is still unfolding, and to memorialize the as- the DAPL, one of the most significant events in Indian tonishing efforts of today’s Native warriors. The first country in our lifetime began to play out. The unfold- distribution of the print edition will be made at the ing story would make headlines around the world 2016 annual convention for the National Congress of and start a global dialog about energy, carbon and American Indians, a meeting sure to be dominated by water: in other words, the future of our people and of discussions and strategic decisions on DAPL. We hope our planet. It’s a policy discussion, as journalist Mark the magazine might facilitate positive action by putting Trahant points out in his column on page 24, that is the issues in proper context. long overdue. The materials presented here tell the narrative of how What we know today can help us prepare for the future. Native leaders and grass-roots activists were galvanized The eventual outcomes of the monumental struggle by a disregard of one Indian nation’s treaty rights that IndianCountryTodayMediaNetwork.com has since brought so many issues to light. It begins with ization continues to this day, most visibly in the form the reprinting of an article by reporter Chelsey Luger of racist mascots. In an editorial published in The Hill that was first published in March, when readers were to support the Change the Mascot movement, NCAI’s alerted to plans for the pipeline, and the recommenda- Jacqueline Pata and I wrote, tions of several agencies to honor the objections of the SRST nation. It covers the initial and subsequent actions “Self-serving critics will claim that there is no connec- of the water protectors; the leadership and eloquence tion between the general depiction of Native Americans of SRST Chairman Archambault; and the juncture at in popular culture and a specific fight over an oil pipe- which we stand today, on the cusp of a national conver- line. The link, though, is straightforward and simple: sation about land use, land rights, and energy policy. A society that appropriates our culture without regard As President Barack Obama remarked at the recently for the damage it does is one that will inevitably allow a concluded White House Tribal Leaders Conference, powerful corporation to appropriate our lands without “Together, you’re making your voices heard.” regard for our people. The need for such communication is essential. Native “The good news is that the conflict over the pipeline Peoples, who have gathered in great numbers in a re- has exposed this destructive dynamic for all to see, pro- mote part of the northern plains, far from urban me- viding us with a potential turning point in our people’s dia centers, must fight hard to be understood. As this fight for equality. Stopping the pipeline is a critical part magazine was heading to press, a news story was cir- of this battle—and finally stopping the larger dehuman- culating that archeologists hired by the state of North ization that led to this moment will secure a brighter Dakota did not find human remains along the pipeline’s future for our people.” path and grounds that had previously been identified by Standing Rock Sioux historians as having sacred and As a mainstream-directed media outlet, ICTMN will historic significance. Much confusion would be avoided forge ahead on all fronts where information and edu- if only these state experts read what Dave Archambault, cation is so sorely required. All people have an inter- Sr. has written for ICTMN. He explains why no human est in this fight. The land and the water must sustain remains will be found: By tradition, deceased loved the many, not the few. We must all strive for unity of ones of the Dakota were not buried underground, but purpose so we may preserve Mother Earth for all the placed on scaffolds to return to Mother Earth. What future generations. remains are rock markings. To the practiced eye these markings tell where the scaffolds once stood, but to a Water is life. pipeline engineer they are just a bunch of rocks that need to be pushed aside by heavy machinery. NΛ ki ’ wa, The cultural and political of Natives can be bulldozed in the eyes of the mainstream because of a long process of dehumanization and domination of Indians that began, as columnist Steve Newcomb proves in his Commen- tary, with Papal bulls in the 15th century. Dehuman- Ray Halbritter THIS WEEK FROM INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY 2 LETTER FROM THE 13 INTERVIEW WITH 25 WE HAVE PUBLISHER CHAIRMAN ARCHAMBAULT ALREADY WON 5 A DAPL TIMELINE 14 “THEN THE DOGS CAME” 26 ARCHAELOGISTS APPALLED 6 EARLY WARNING: 16 SACRED GROUNDS DAKOTA ACCESS DESTROYED 27 STANDING ROCK PIPELINE THREAT IN GENEVA 17 AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE 7 THREE FEDERAL AGENCIES 28 HIGH-PROFILE SUPPORT SIDE WITH STANDING ROCK 18 WE ARE WATER PEOPLE 32 MARTY TWO BULLS 8 MNI WICONI: 20 ARE YOU A TRAITOR OR A WATER IS LIFE PATRIOT? 10 WHOSE LAND? 21 WHY I CAN’T FORGET THE WHITESTONE MASSACRE For editorial inquiries, contact: [email protected] 11 WHEN MAN CHANGES THE LAND, IT IS CHANGED 22 AFTER INJUNCTION FOREVER DENIED, FEDS INTERVENE Cover: Dallas Goldtooth. TOC: Matika Wilbur 12 NATIVE NATIONS SUPPORT 24 OVERDUE NATIONAL STANDING ROCK DEBATE IndianCountryTodayMediaNetwork.com INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY 5 A Dakota Access Pipeline Timeline START 2014 March 2016 March–April 2016 April 2016 May 2016 Pipeline proposed The last state permit required for construc- Three federal agencies—the U.S. Department of People start gathering near the Construction begins along some tion of the pipeline is granted in Iowa, one the Interior, the U.S. Environmental Protection site where the pipeline is slated parts of the route. of four states through which the pipeline Agency (EPA) and the Advisory Council on to cross the Missouri River, will run. Approval of a few federal permits, Historic Preservation—write separate letters to with about 25 people camping. the last of which are handled by the U.S. the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in late March Army Corps of Engineers, is still pending. and early April asking for an environmental impact assessment rather than the less stringent environmental review the Corps conducted. July 27 August 8 August 10 August 18 August 19 Standing Rock Sioux Tribe sues U.S. 48-hour notice given Construction begins; initial confrontation Archambault in conjunc- North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple Army Corps of Engineers in U.S. District of impending con- with police; Standing Rock Sioux Chair- tion with the Internation- declares state of emergency to, he says, free up Court in Washington DC over its permit struction man David Archambault II, Council al Indian Treaty Council resources to bring in people to guard public approvals; requests injunction to stop Member Dana Yellow Fat and several sends urgent appeal to safety. At the same time, Morton County Dakota Access construction from going others, both Native and non-Native, are the United Nations, citing Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier says that he’s had forward near the reservation pending the arrested.